High-profile 'guests'

Frustrated with Mr Obeid dodging around questions for a second day, Mr Ipp said the ICAC would sit until he started providing answers.

Mr Ipp said he did not mind if it took days of Mr Obeid "making speeches".

At one point, Mr Obeid snapped that he would answer a question the way he wanted to.

The inquiry also heard that in 2008 there were 399 phone calls between Mr Obeid and former mining minister Ian Macdonald, but Mr Obeid said they were of a political nature.

He has previously denied colluding with Mr Macdonald to get inside knowledge on mining tenders which could have made him and his associates $100 million.

The ICAC also heard during questions that Mr Macdonald stayed for free at the Obeid family's ski lodge at Perisher.

But Mr Obeid said the family was generous to friends, and that federal minister Bill Shorten, NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson, former premier Morris Iemma, Carl Scully, Tony Burke and Mark Arbib had stayed there also.

A spokeswoman for Mr Robertson says he and his family stayed in 2007 while he was the head of Unions NSW.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mr Shorten says the minister has never been to the Perisher resort and that he cannot ski.

The Leader of the Government in the Senate, Stephen Conroy, says he has stayed at the ski lodge.

Senator Conroy says he stayed there for two days in either 2005 or 2006 and that no member of the Obeid family was present at the time.

Mr Burke, the Environment Minister, says he stayed at the lodge with his family in 2004 and 2006.

Taped phone call

The ICAC also released a secretly recorded phone call between Mr Obeid and businessman Greg Jones.

In it, Mr Jones complains that Mr Obeid's sons, "the boys", are "acting a bit stupidly".

"We need common sense to prevail here my son," Mr Jones said.

ICAC phone taps

Mr Obeid encourages Mr Jones to meet with the boys to discuss the problems.

Yesterday, Mr Obeid told the ICAC he did not know how confidential mining maps got into the family's Sydney headquarters and denied knowing his sons were buying two properties because they were covered by a new mining tenement.

In the taped conversation, Mr Obeid also tells Mr Jones that he cannot wait to leave politics, but "they" keep delaying him.